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UFOs -

In 2023, aliens were prominently part of public discourse. A United States Air Force whistleblower testified in a House of Representatives congressional hearing about UFOs.

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A government cover-up? -

David Grusch claimed there is a secretive UFO recovery program underway by the US federal government that has "non human" spacecraft and their "dead pilots" in its possession.

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Alien corpses -

Meanwhile in Mexico, two mummified corpses claimed to be alien were displayed by UFO enthusiast Jaime Maussan to a stunned Mexican congress. Critics discredited the remains as fakes, however.

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Radio frequency -

If beings from other planets really do exist, Earth isn't hard to find. In fact, we've been broadcasting radio frequency waves into space for over 100 years.

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Cosmic neighbors? -

If we have cosmic neighbors, they've probably picked up on these waves, depending on how technologically advanced they are, and if they have instruments similar to ours like telescopes.

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Arrival -

If an alien arrived on your doorstep, have you considered how you might respond? At the moment, we don't have an official line about what to do if you meet an alien.

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Arrival -

Without international protocol to follow, perhaps it's time we think about how we should behave were an alien to show up—just in case!

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Advance warning? -

If aliens were to arrive in a huge airship or UFO, this would likely be spotted. Even without artificial light, an alien vehicle would reflect sunlight.

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Oumuamua -

In October 2017, the Pan-STARRS Observatory in Hawaii picked up on the sunlight reflection of an object they named Oumuamua, which means "Scout" in the Hawaiian language.

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Oumuamua -

The properties of Oumuamua make it different from other natural comets or asteroids in our solar system, suggesting the possibility of it being a product of alien technology.

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A long journey -

It would have taken Oumuamua 10,000 years to traverse our solar system. If it was a probe sent to spy on us, it's ancient and more than likely out of commission.

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The smartest kids in the cosmos? -

We have no way of knowing if our technology makes us the smartest kids in the cosmos, or if it's so rudimentary compared to small, fast-moving objects in our solar system that our telescopes aren't picking up.

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Communication -

But say one day extraterrestrials do make it here, or we find evidence of intelligent life on other planets. In order to communicate with one another, how would we use language or other means to understand each other?

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Communication -

There are many ways humans have improvised when language isn't a way to communicate with someone. Body language would likely be an important tool, as it has been in the past with other humans.

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Body language -

Signs and hand gestures would be some of the only ways to have a conversation. There are around 7,100 languages spoken on Earth, which might be confusing for ETs!

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Animal communication -

But those languages are only spoken by humans. Maybe the way animals communicate could tell us something about how extraterrestrials might do so.

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Evolutionary challenges -

Some scientists believe evolutionary challenges could be universal, and that by extension the evolutionary forces that have shaped life on Earth could produce similar features in ETs.

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Evolutionary challenges -

If this theory is correct, it could mean life and language throughout the cosmos might share some common features.

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Laws of physics -

Communication in the cosmos is subject to the laws of physics, as far as we know. This means everything from gestures to sounds and patterns could be the basis of language on an alien planet.

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Linguistics -

Some linguists have speculated on what a non-human, non-Earthbound language might sound like. What they agree on is that if a technologically advanced civilization exists, it would necessitate communication between a large number of individuals.

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Linguistics -

While the mathematical nature of human language might be similar to any kind of alien language, it doesn't mean that such life would speak the same way humans do.

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Exo-being language -

Humans use speech, writing, body movements, drumming, and whistles to communicate. It's possible intelligent exo-beings could have externalized communication in way we haven't, for example using magnetic fields or pheromones.

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A similar level of intelligence -

We can guess that exo-beings who make it to Earth would at least have a working knowledge of some of the same things we do, such as about the chemical building blocks of the Universe.

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A similar level of intelligence -

So, you could perhaps strike up a conversation about the spiral shapes found in nature, the value of Pi, or the chemical formula for water if you uncovered a way to communicate with the aliens who arrive on your doorstep!

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Making contact -

But we have absolutely no way of knowing if we could decode an alien language or carry a conversation until we make contact with such beings.

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Speculation -

Until then, we can only speculate about the nature of alien life and their level of technological advancement, and their potential to communicate with us.

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MUFON -

The Mutual UFO Network, or MUFON, reports on UFO sightings, so this is usually the first port of call for those who think they've experienced one.

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Department of Defense -

For its part, NASA has been quoted as saying it sends reports it receives to the DOD. Their research continues into if we truly are alone in the Universe.

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Dismissed -

UFO sightings are usually dismissed, as there has never been credible evidence in the past that signified alien life. There is no guideline about what to do if an alien approaches you; you better just hope it's a benevolent being!

Sources: (BBC Future) (NASA) (Scientific American) (Gizmodo)

See also: Otherworldly encounters—celebrities who believe in aliens

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